January 2021 is here and there are lots of opportunities to Do Some Science! From National Science Fiction Day to Quadrantids Meteor Shower, take a look at what January 2021 brings for the science lover in you.
In addition to being National Blood Donor Month, the month of January is full of great opportunities to get involved in the world of science. On January 3rd, you may spot streaks of light in the night sky from the Quadranids meteor shower. We will also celebrate National Bird Day (January 5th) and observe the first full moon of the year on January 28th. Here’s a list of some other great science events and celebrations this month.
January 1: The dwarf planet and asteroid, Ceres was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi of the Palermo Observatory on this day in 1801.
January 2: National Science Fiction Day (Isaac Asimov’s Birthday)
January 2: Earth at Perihelion
January 3: The Mars Rover Spirit landed on Mars on this day in 2004
January 3-4: Quadrantids Meteor Shower
January 4: Physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, and educator, Dr. Benjamin Rush was born on this day in 1746.
January 4: Physicist, mathematician, and astronomer, Isaac Newton was born on this day in 1643.
January 4: Louis Braille was born on this day in 1809. He is credited with inventing a reading system for the blind.
January 4: Trivia Day
January 5: National Bird Day
January 6: Bean Day
January 6: Pyrenean Ibex declared extinct on this day in 2000. Scientist attempted to clone it in 2009, marking it the first species to undergo de-extinction, but the clone died seven minutes after its birth.
January 6: On this day in 1925, agronomist George Washington Carver was granted patent No. 1,522,176 for cosmetics.
January 7: French physicist, Marguerite Perey discovered the element Francium on this day in 1930.
January 7: British chemist, John Ernst Walker was born on this day in 1941.
January 8: Dutch astronomer, Johannes Fabricius was born on this day in 1587. He is often credited with being the first observer of sunspots (1610/1611).
January 8: English astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking, was born on this day in 1942.
January 9: National Static Electricity Day
January 10: Cut Your Energy Cost Day
January 10: National Save The Eagles Day
January 10: American agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver was born on this day in 1864.
January 12: Italian biologist and physiologist, Lazzaro Spallanzanni was born on this day in 1729.
January 15: The Soviet Union performs the first docking in space on this day in 1969.
January 16: Zoologist, Dian Fossey was born on this day in 1932.
January 17: Statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and diplomat, Benjamin Franklin was born on this day in 1706.
January 17: American computer scientist, Anita Borg was born on this day n 1949. She is credited with founding the Institute for Women and Technology and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.
January 19: National Popcorn Day
January 20: World Penguin Awareness Day
January 21: Squirrel Appreciation Day
January 21: The first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched. It was christened by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower.
January 23: Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the United States to receive an medical degree on this day in 1849.
January 27: Thomas Edison received patent No. 223,898 for the incandescent bulb on this day in 1880.
January 27: Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev was born on this day in 1834. He is credited with the invention of the periodic table of elements.
January 28: Full Wolf Moon (also known as the Old Moon).
January 29: Puzzle Day
January 30: National Seed Swap Day
